Goshen, IN — The last time the women’s basketball teams from Indiana Wesleyan University and Goshen College hooked up, it was for the 2003-2004 Mid-Central Conference Tournament Championship. The Leafs went on to win that game — and the league crown — after splitting the regular-season games with the Wildcats to set up that classic affair.

With the two teams meeting for the first time this season in the Roman Gingerich Center Thursday night, the growing rivalry was resumed. And, like last year, it was Indiana Wesleyan that took the first chapter, defeating Goshen by a 69-47 score.

“I thought we played well defensively at times, but we struggled offensively,” said Steve Wiktorowski, Goshen head coach. “Indiana Wesleyan is too good and well balanced of a team to just stay with defensively, and they showed that tonight.”

Goshen (6-6, 1-3) competed hard with the sixth-ranked Wildcats to open the game, taking a 15-14 lead with 8:54 to play in the first half. Sadly, it was the last lead the Leafs would enjoy, as a 19 to six Indiana Wesleyan run closed the half and made the score 33-21 at the intermission. A 20 to seven Wildcat run began the second period, giving the visitors a 53-28 advantage and clear control of the game. Wiktorowski’s squad could not close the gap by much, as Goshen’s smallest deficit was 21 points — 53-32 — at the 11:20 mark.

“I felt we played a little harder on offense in the second half, but then had a lot of trouble stopping them on the inside,” Wiktorowski said. “Our bench played well and we cut a little into their lead, but we were not able to sustain it.”

Despite outrebounding Wesleyan by a 27 to 20 count — and grabbing one more offensive board than the Wildcats — Goshen was only able to attempt 38 shots on the night, while the Wildcats took 55 tries from the field. Both teams shot near 50 percent from the floor (Goshen: 19 of 38; Indiana Wesleyan: 27 of 55) but the sheer number of attempts proved to be the difference. A major factor in the differential was turnovers, as the Leafs committed 20 errors to Wesleyan’s nine. Wiktorowski’s team could only get to the free throw line 13 times (the squad made seven for 53.8 percent) and was just three for nine from the charity stripe in the second half.

“We outrebounded a strong, physical team, which was a positive considering we really struggled in that area in our last game,” Wiktorowski said. “We shot the ball pretty well overall, but we didn’t get enough shots from the floor or the free throw line to be effective.”

Senior Erin McDugle was the only Leaf to score in double-figures on the night, scoring 11 points on just three of five shooting from the floor. Junior Ashlee Woodlee chipped in eight points and a team-high five rebounds, while freshman Sarah Arnold and senior Candice Williams each scored six points.

“I felt Ashley Woodlee had her best game of the season and was aggressive on both ends of the floor tonight,” Wiktorowski said. “I thought (sophomore) Ashley Hegerfeld, (junior) Jenn Rupp, Sarah Arnold, (freshman) Jess Buller and (freshman) Carly Feldman all played well off the bench in the second half.”

If history is any indicator, Goshen shouldn’t feel too discouraged by the lopsided loss. Last season the Leafs dropped a 49-75 bombshell to the Wildcats at the Roman Gingerich Center on Jan. 17 before winning at IWU 72-67 on Feb. 11 and then taking the conference tournament title by a 70-64 score on Mar. 1. For now, though, Wiktorowski said he isn’t thinking ahead to conference play resuming in January.

“We need to play a few nonconference games here before Christmas and raise our level of consistency so we can play better in the conference the second half of the season,” Wiktorowski said. “Hopefully our immediate schedule will help us to do that.”

Goshen will travel to the state of Kentucky to play three games in four days this weekend, opening against Lindsey Wilson College Saturday at 8 p.m. That game will be played at Georgetown College.